Articles
We Need Info on 18-Plus Dependents
Time to Verify Student Eligibility
Call Center Schedule Changes for Summer
Winners of Un-FORE-getable Golf Outing Announced
Delta Dental Sponsors Senior Smiles at Morristown Memorial Hospital

We Need Info on 18-Plus Dependents

When teens turn 18, they face many choices. One is whether to stay in school or enter the workforce. 

Their decision will affect whether they continue to receive dental benefits through their parents’ program. For the groups that offer it, we cover college-age dependents who are full time students. However, in some cases, coverage ceases for over-18 dependents not attending school full time. 

Please notify us whenever an employee’s dependent is no longer eligible for dental coverage. 

We keep overage dependents on our system while we are awaiting student documentation information. If we automatically removed dependents once they hit a certain age, we would unfortunately deny many claims for the majority of students who are in fact still covered. 

We count on you to report when dependents are no longer eligible so we can remove them from any future billing. It’s easy to add and remove dependents online using our online eligibility submissions feature. Go to www.deltadentalnj.com. Click “Employers” and “Eligibility Submissions,” then log on.

Time to Verify Student Eligibility

Do your employees have dependents who are college age and full time students? Please remind them to submit Delta Dental’s Student Documentation Verification Form. 

This form must be filled out each fall school term to minimize claim processing delays.

Employees can download a copy of the Student Documentation Verification Form from our Web site at www.deltadentalnj.com. Click “Forms” on the navigation bar on the left. 

They may fax the form to (973) 285-4141. Or they may mail it to:

Delta Dental of New Jersey
Customer Service Department
Attn: Correspondence
P.O. Box 222
Parsippany, NJ 07054

There’s no need to submit any other paperwork.

Call Center Schedule Changes for Summer

Our Customer Service call center hours have changed through the first week of August. 

The temporary schedule is:

• Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Friday from 8 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

We reduced our hours at times when call volume is traditionally low. This allows us to undergo a major training initiative. 

Our normal Customer Service schedule resumes the week of August 6. Normal hours are:

• Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Need benefits information at other times? As always, Benefits Connection and our Voice Response System are available all day, every day. They provide automated answers to most patient eligibility, benefits, and claims information. To access Benefits Connection, go to www.deltadentalnj.com. Click “Members” and log on to Benefits Connection. To access the Voice Response System, please call Customer Service at (800) 452-9310 and follow the automated prompts.

Winners of Un-FORE-getable Golf Outing Announced

The Seventeenth Annual Delta Dental Classic on June 20th drew nearly 90 golfers on a near-perfect spring day. The event, which began in 1991, supports Special Olympics New Jersey (SONJ). Through last year it raised more than $553,000 for the organization. This year’s contributions are still being tallied.

Winners include:
1st Place Low Gross (Women): Dr. Leslie Ann Skurla
1st Place Low Gross (Men): Jim Schulz 
1st Place Gross Team: Jim Schulz, Dr. August Pellegrini, Dr. Barbara Rich, Dr. Gabe Doria

SONJ is dedicated to helping people with mental disabilities become physically fit, productive, and respected members of society through sports training and competition. Special thanks to all of our participants and sponsors.

Delta Dental Sponsors Senior Smiles at Morristown Memorial Hospital

A $25,000 grant from the Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation is funding the Delta Dental Senior Smiles program at Morristown Memorial Hospital. Senior Smiles offers free dental care to eligible senior citizens in Morris, Sussex and Hunterdon counties. The pilot program is expected to care for nearly 40 patients this year. 

Community members 62 years of age and older who qualify for charity care through Morristown Memorial Hospital are eligible to receive dental services through Senior Smiles. The program provides full and partial dentures, as well as X-rays, cleanings and fillings.

“This area of New Jersey can be an expensive place to live, and many of our older residents have found themselves living on a fixed income, with most of their money being spent on existing medical conditions,” explained Elizabeth Clemente, D.D.S., chair of the Dental Department for Morristown Memorial Hospital and author of the grant proposal. “Unfortunately, charity care does not cover dentures and most seniors do not have dental insurance, so they end up going without. The Delta Dental Senior Smiles program was developed to fulfill this need.”

“Delta Dental is committed to helping provide underserved New Jersey residents access to oral healthcare, and we welcomed the opportunity to assist Morristown Memorial Hospital with this initiative,” said Gene F. Napoliello, D.D.S., president of the Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation. “Senior citizens represent a growing segment of the population that is often unable to afford adequate oral healthcare. This is unfortunate since as we age, risks for a number of oral health problems greatly increase, including tooth loss due to severe periodontal disease or dental decay.”

Dental care for older adults is a complex specialty due to the many different health problems we face as we age. For example, certain medications can cause dry mouth, which can increase the risk of periodontal disease. Certain treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy may complicate dental treatment. The Senior Smiles program is equipped to handle these needs.

“The patients we have treated so far through Senior Smiles have been active, productive residents, many of whom volunteer their time throughout the community, even here at Morristown Memorial Hospital, but have found themselves unable to afford the dental care they need,” said Dr. Clemente. “We are grateful to Delta Dental for partnering with us to offer these seniors a way to improve their oral health and their smiles.”

The program is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you know someone who might quality for Senior Smiles, call (973) 971-5442 for more information.